


Off Come the Gloves

by TheTacticianAlchemist



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Confessions, F/M, First Time, Fluff, Kissing, Lots of kissing, Pseudo-Incest, Vaginal Sex, and they laugh a lot, this was so much fun to write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 06:51:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6274138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTacticianAlchemist/pseuds/TheTacticianAlchemist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Focus,” he says, his voice piercing her thoughts like a shot from his Fujin Yumi. “You’re ready to fire whenever you’d like.”</p><p>Acacia blinks, and then her eyes narrow, a slack frown falling onto her face as she stares at the red blotch of paint on the target. For a moment she feels as if Takumi has always been there, his presence a natural occurrence, as necessary in this task as the bow and arrow. She takes a breath and lets go of the string and projectile.</p><p>[Takumi x f!Corrin. for fujiinyumii, using her avatar, Acacia.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Off Come the Gloves

**Author's Note:**

> this was way too much fun to write so I got it done real quick
> 
> #takumi trash

Acacia lifts up the bow, aiming the arrow at the target. The string is taut in her hand; the iron is warm under her blistered fingers. Her arms ache at the still-unfamiliar stance, at the weight of something quite unlike a dragon stone or the Yato.

Yet still, she breathes in, lines up the shot, and lets go.

The arrow whizzes from the bow, flying nearly faster than her sharp eyes can follow. With a _thwick_ , the arrow hits the target right at the edge, grazing through the packed hay and embedding itself into the ground several yards behind the range.

“Jeez,” Takumi huffs, clapping a hand on Acacia’s shoulder. “I should’ve known you weren’t going to get this.”

His word choice is harsh, but his tone is playful, familiar, forgiving—a far cry from how he treated her when they started, given that she was so clumsy her first shot barely flew five feet. Acacia glances up at him to find that his hazel eyes are trained on her face. Something jolts in her stomach, and she looks away, down at the bow.

There’s a slight pause, and then Takumi says, “Here, let me show you.”

Without any other warning, he moves behind her, his chest against her back. He places his hands over hers and lifts them, moving her arms into a higher position than the one she had before.

She feels her face heat, and she hopes to the gods that it’s just because she isn’t used to this from him. “T-Takumi—”

“Pull another arrow out of your quiver,” he commands, letting go of her right hand. Acacia hesitates, then does as she’s told and notches the arrow into place.

“A little higher,” Takumi murmurs, pushing her arm into position and holding it there.

He’s so close she can feel the warmth radiating off his skin. Her heart is pounding. She can barely think of anything aside from that moment, aside from his hands over hers and—

“Focus,” he says, his voice piercing her thoughts like a shot from his Fujin Yumi. “You’re ready to fire whenever you’d like.”

Acacia blinks, and then her eyes narrow, a slack frown falling onto her face as she stares at the red blotch of paint on the target. For a moment she feels as if Takumi has always been there, his presence a natural occurrence, as necessary in this task as the bow and arrow. She takes a breath and lets go of the string and projectile.

The arrow flies straight, the tip stabbing into the center of the target.

Her mouth falls open. She jumps like an excited child. “T-Takumi, did you see that?!”

She turns to him to find him smiling, a soft light in his eyes. He rests his hands on his hips. “Just know you didn’t do that yourself, okay?” he teases.

The memory of their shared contact comes barreling to the front of her mind, and she feels hot all over with embarrassment and shame. “T-thank you,” she says, coughing.

His eyebrows knit together slightly, but the expression leaves his face too quickly for her to get a good read of it. He nods toward the target. “Try again.”

She bows slightly toward him, reminding herself of his status as her teacher in this subject. It’s ridiculously formal, something she’s not used to doing, and she pretends not to see the shock in Takumi’s eyes as she takes her stance again.

She takes a few moments setting up. Her blood is pounding in her ears and she can feel how her cheeks tingle, a sure sign that they’re red. The worst thoughts bombard her mind.

But she refuses to let that stop her.

Her fingers tense around the bow. “Focus,” she murmurs, letting out a breath. She lifts her arms up, remembering how Takumi moved them into place. She straightens her back, keeps her eyes forward, and—for the moment—everything is _natural_ once more and she lets go of the arrow.

It hits the target, but several rings away from the center.

Takumi claps a couple times. “You’re doing much better—or you’re just lucky.”

Acacia nods, trying to relax her body. She puts the bow aside and takes the quiver off her back. “I have a good teacher,” she says, turning to him and giving a smile that she hopes he’ll take as an apology for her panic-induced bow.

“The best,” he corrects, but his mouth curls up and he stares at her without speaking for a heartbeat too long. “But aren’t you supposed to wait for your _teacher_ to tell you when class is over?”

“I’m a bit tired,” she half-lies, because she doesn’t think she’ll be able to sleep anytime soon. Her eyes flicker away. “Besides, my hands hurt…”

“Hm?” He takes one of them and checks it. “Blisters? You’re lucky they’re not that bad yet.”

“I’m used to them,” she assures him, warring against herself about whether or not to pull her hand away. “My hands are already pretty calloused.”

“Heh, so are mine,” Takumi says, releasing her. He smiles again. “You go to Sakura and get something for those hands. I’ll get the arrows.”

Acacia hesitates again, but then nods. “See you, Takumi,” she says, standing still for just a second before she turns and leaves the range.

“See you later,” he calls after her.

His voice fills her head, and she forgets all else.

()()()

The nights in the astral plane are chilly. While Acacia would much rather cozy up in her private quarters in front of the fireplace and sip on a warm cup of tea, she’s too restless. The rest of the day went normally, but once she slipped into bed, she thought of Takumi once again and found she couldn’t sleep.

She’s thankful that she’s never been too bothered by the cold (well, the draftiness of the Northern Fortress was always fine; not a surprise wake-up call from Flora and Felicia). The tips of her fingers are only a little numb by the time she comes back to the archery range. She breathes on them to warm them up before grabbing a bow and quiver of arrows.

 _Takumi could still do this flawlessly,_ she thinks as she squints downrange. The moonlight is bright, but the pattern of the target plays tricks on her eyes.

She notches an arrow, then lets it fly. She doesn’t see quite where it goes, but it sure as hell doesn’t hit the target.

()()()

“Acacia?”

She puts the last retrieved arrow in her quiver before looking up. Takumi stands at the head of the range, his sandy hair melding with the predawn light.

Her stomach churns. She stands up fully, then trudges toward him.

“Why are you up so early?” he asks, a smile tugging at his lips. “Did you want to get to practice that badly?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she admits, unable to look him in the eye.

He pauses, checking her over. “Have you been out here all night?”

She tugs at a strand of her short hair. “Um, yeah.”

“What?! Are you crazy?!” He shakes his head, grits his teeth, a total change from a moment ago. “You’re the one keeping us all together. You need your rest! Are you _trying_ to act dumb?”

She flinches at his tone. “I-I just couldn’t sleep…”

He hesitates, then sighs and runs a hand through his bangs. “Whatever. Sorry. C’mon, you need to get some sleep if you can…” He takes the bow from her hand, but she winces. He frowns, then takes her hand in his. His voice is heavy with disapproval. “Your blisters are worse than yesterday. Did you even go see Sakura?”

“Takumi, I’m fine.”

“Oh, just shut up for once, will you?” he mutters, taking her by the wrist. They pause in the range only long enough to put away the equipment before Takumi leads her to the rod shop, and then finally all the way back to Acacia’s private quarters.

“Sit,” he instructs, nodding toward the table. Acacia sits in the wooden chair, watching as Takumi pulls off his gloves before tossing them onto the table so he can open a jar of salve. He takes the other chair.

“Hands.”

She extends them toward him, her palms up. He spreads the ointment on her fingers and palms, taking care to be gentle, his face scrunched in concentration. Acacia feels even her ears start to heat up.

He bandages her hands to keep the salve from rubbing off, then leans back and sighs. “Well, did you at least improve your aim?”

She plays with her hands, testing how they feel when she puts pressure on them. “I, uh…not really.”

Takumi shakes his head. “Which reminds me; you really shouldn’t be out there at night, especially when you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Weariness suddenly washes over Acacia. “You know, you don’t have to treat me like a child. I’m older than you.”

He huffs. “Then act like it, then.”

She scowls. “Why even help me out, then, instead of letting me do it all myself like an _adult_?”

She expects him to combat her with a fast retort, but instead, his face turns red. He stumbles over his syllables before he’s able to actually speak: “I-I just wanted to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid again, is all. A-after all, you went to the range of all places instead of, I dunno, maybe just going for a midnight walk or something—why didn’t you just do that instead?”

The question floors her, because she doesn’t want to give him the truth. “I-I, well, wanted to just get better as fast as possible, is all.”

“You make it sound like you don’t want to—” Takumi suddenly coughs. He stands, nearly knocking his chair over. “Whatever. Just get a nap, o-or else I’ll come back and knock you out or something.”

He speeds from the room, nearly slamming the door behind him and leaving Acacia in a muddle of emotions—mostly confusion.

Her gaze remains glued to the door for a few minutes, but then her eyes wander. Another wave of tiredness washes over her; he’s left behind his gloves.

()()()

Acacia wakes a few hours later far less tired, but the improper rest still leaves her a bit groggy. She makes herself presentable again, then shoves Takumi’s gloves into her pocket.

For some reason she expected him to find him at the archery range again, but instead, Setsuna is there—though she’s just staring off into the distance rather than practicing. Acacia leaves her be and goes to the mess hall, belatedly realizing she’s hungry. Luckily, Tsubaki is behind the counter, serving those getting an early lunch (or, in Acacia’s case, a late breakfast).

While she munches on her bread, Azura sits down across from her with her own meal. The songstress’s lips curl down in a slight frown. “Are you all right, Acacia? You look tired.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” the dragon princess says between bites.

Azura reaches out and lightly touches the bandages on her friend’s hand. “What happened?”

“Bad blisters. Takumi did this for me.”

“Ah.” A smile forms on her face. “He’s been teaching your how to use a bow, right? How’s that coming along? The two of you seem to be closer now, thank goodness.”

Acacia grimaces into her drink. “Occasionally I can hit the target, but the only time I hit the center was w-when…he was helping me,” she says quickly. She shakes her head. “You know how clumsy I am with anything but a sword. So I couldn’t sleep last night, so I thought if I practiced then I’d get better and then I wouldn’t have to be around him any longer.”

Azura’s brows knit together. “Are the two of you arguing?”

Acacia silently curses herself for the slip of the tongue. It’s hard to tell anything but the truth to Azura, since she feels so at ease around the woman. “I…feel like I’m bothering him,” she admits, and while it’s the truth, she isn’t revealing the true center of her thoughts.

Azura stares at her for a moment, like she can see through her friend’s white lie. “You know you can tell me anything, Acacia.”

The dragon princess hesitates, but Azura seems to let it go, because she turns some of her attention to eating.

“Whatever the case may be,” Azura says a few moments later, “I’ve noticed how Takumi acts lately. He doesn’t mind your presence one bit anymore. In fact, I’d wager the opposite.”

()()()

Acacia gives up on finding Takumi until the end of the day, after she’s done her own chores around the astral plane. Generally, this would be the time that they would practice archery—she heads toward the range, but on the way, Oboro stops her.

“Lady Acacia,” she says, dipping her head. “Lord Takumi says he won’t be teaching you today. He also said that I should make sure you don’t do any archery yourself—or anything too hard on yourself.”

She isn’t surprised, but all the same, she can’t help the huff that escapes her mouth. “Well, where is he?”

“Practicing, but beyond the walls. Hinata is with him.”

“So long as they’re careful, I guess,” Acacia mutters. She thanks Oboro and heads back to her private quarters, hoping that a book will calm her nerves.

She can’t help thinking about Takumi, though, and wondering if he is avoiding her.

()()()

_He’s definitely avoiding me._

She only sees him occasionally throughout the day at best, and always from afar. If he’s eating in the mess hall, he’ll either stuff his face or leave without finishing before she has the chance to sit down; if he’s helping in the wheat field with Mozu, he’ll ignore her; and it all turns Acacia into a frustrated, worried mess.

 _Did I just completely mess up?_ She knows she screwed up, but she couldn’t have been so bad to warrant his avoidance…right? She didn’t realize how much she enjoyed talking with him and just being with him—it was almost like he went back to being how he was when they first met, only this felt worse, somehow. She wondered if Azura was wrong about this. _I’d rather he come call me ‘Nohrian scum’ right now than pretend I’m not here._

As nervous as she is, she takes a deep breath when she sees him crossing the path ahead of her. She marches up to him, and he doesn’t notice her until the last second, when her hand is clamped around his wrist.

Takumi starts, his hazel eyes wide and his face flushed in an instant. “A-Acacia!”

“My hands are fine. See?” She holds one up. “Just—just finish teaching me how to shoot a bow, okay? No excuses!”

His lips press into a thin line, and finally, finally, he nods. “A-all right.”

She realizes she’s still holding onto him, and she lets go at once, cheeks burning. “R-right, then. Let’s go.”

They walk side-by-side, and she wishes she were still holding his wrist, tugging him along, because right now she doesn’t feel in control of the situation at all. But then she would be touching him again, and that sounds like an awful idea in her present state of mind.

Acacia’s first few shots are terrible. Takumi watches her awkwardly notch the bow without a word—he doesn’t even shake his head like he normally would. He just stares at her, an unreadable expression on his face.

Arrows litter the way toward the target. Acacia reaches back to her quiver and gropes for another, but she can’t find one. She searches more, gritting her teeth, and then finally she nearly rips the quiver off to look into it, but it’s empty.

Takumi steps forward, his hand slightly outstretched. “Acacia…?”

She stands still, staring into the empty quiver, her arms shaking. Without warning, she finds her mouth moving, words tumbling off her lips: “Why won’t you tell me what I’m doing wrong? Or insult me, at least?”

“What?” Takumi asks. He doesn’t move.

Acacia looks up, hot tears stuck in her eyes. Her voice rises to a near-yell. “If you want nothing to do with me anymore, just tell it to my face like you used to!”

Takumi’s eyes widen. “A-Acacia, no, that’s not it.”

She shakes her head. “I was going to try to finish learning the bow so w-we could just _stop_ , but I can’t do even that! So just—just tell me to go and I will!”

He hesitates.

Acacia drops the quiver. She lowers her head and starts to hurry past him, but his hand reaches out and his fingers slip around her wrist.

“Don’t—don’t go.”

She stops, turning to look at him. His hazel gaze meets hers, pinning her to the spot.

“I'm sorry, Acacia,” he says, and he looks lost. “I didn’t mean to make you upset like this.”

The sincerity calms her, but her mind is still muddled. “Then...did I upset you?”

“N-no, of course not!” He shakes his head, and his cheeks turn pink. He pauses like he’s looking for words. “I just…” His grip on her wrist tightens. His eyes fall to the ground. “I have something to tell you, and I couldn’t figure out how to say it.”

She frowns. She doesn’t get it. But her heart is pounding. “Then...just tell me.”

His lips twitch. His fingers slide down from her wrist, but then they curl around her hand. He looks her in the eye. “I...really like you.”

For a moment, all Acacia can hear is her heartbeat in her ears. She can’t believe he said that. “W-well I...like you too, Takumi.”

“N-no, I mean...I’m in love with you.”

She blinks at him, trying to piece it all together. “You…”

“I-I know it’s weird,” he blurts, and then with his free hand he starts digging through one of his pockets. “I-I couldn’t believe myself, when I realized… And then I found—I found this,” he says, pulling a slightly worn and crumpled letter out and holding it toward her. “It’s from Mother—I mean… It explains that your mother, and our stepmother. Sumeragi was not your father.”

Takumi lets go of her, and Acacia takes the letter into her shaky hands. She reads through the unfamiliar handwriting, and the tears finally fall from her eyes.

“...Acacia?” Takumi murmurs after a few moments. His face is pale.

“Takumi, I…” She looks him in the eye, because he deserves that much. “I have feelings for you as well, but I… I need time to think.”

Color returns to his cheeks, and he nods vehemently. “Of course. Of course, take your time. Keep the letter.”

She nods in turn. Then, at a loss for words, she turns and leaves.

()()()

She lies on her stomach, elbows on her pillows as she looks at Takumi’s right glove. She’s had it for a week now. The more she looks at it, the surer she is that Oboro made it for him, and the thought makes her chuckle.

A knock sounds at the door, and Acacia sits up, letting her feet hang over the side. She takes a steadying breath and says, “Come in.”

There’s a pause, then the handle turns and Takumi stands in the doorway, leaning in. He smiles warily and holds up his left glove. “I found this in my quarters…”

Acacia holds up the other half of the pair. “I wanted to talk to you,” she admits, feeling her face heat. “You can come sit down.”

His cheeks flush when she pats the spot beside her. He closes the door behind him, then sits on the bed, leaving a polite space between them. “...And?” he mutters.

“And I love you.”

“Well, then—wait, what?”

Takumi stares at her. Acacia feels her skin redden all the way to her ears. “I love you,” she repeats, edging closer to him. “It started when I realized how kind you really were… And I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I was in love with you even before reading the letter.” She nods toward where she left the paper on the table.

He’s still flabbergasted for another moment. Then, he closes the space between them and kisses her lips. He cups her face with both hands and tilts his face to deepen the contact, sighing into her mouth.

He finally pulls away, but just an inch. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time now,” he admits.

She smiles back and touches his cheek. Laughter bubbles up from her throat. “I have, too.”

He kisses her again, leaning against her, and with a gasp Acacia falls backward onto the bed underneath him.

Takumi freezes, holding himself up with rigid arms. “I-I’m sorry,” he blurts. “I didn’t mean…”

Acacia gives him a shy smile, though she’s sure she must be as red in the face as he is. “It’s okay, Takumi. I…would like to keep going, if you’re okay with it.”

“O-of course I’m okay with it,” he says, failing miserably to hide his embarrassment at his inexperience with the situation. He leans down to kiss her again, resting his weight against her comfortably.

Acacia tries to tangle her fingers through his hair, but his ponytail is too tight. She taps his cheek to get him to pause their kissing, and he stops so suddenly she realizes she startled him.

“Sorry,” she mutters. “I just wanted to touch your hair.”

A relieved chuckle escapes him. “I thought I was hurting you.”

Takumi sits up and unties the knots keeping his hair up. The sandy tresses fall down his back, but a fair amount hangs around his cheeks and shoulders. Acacia sits up as well, reaching out to gently run her fingers through his silky hair. “Beautiful,” she murmurs.

“Handsome,” he corrects.

“ _Beautiful_ ,” she insists, silencing him with a kiss.

Takumi smiles helplessly. He puts his hand up against her cheek, rubbing her skin with his thumb. “I love you. I love you so much.”

Warmth wells up inside her. “I love you, too.”

He pauses, then puts his hand on her waist. His lips press together into something like a frown. “Do you mind if we, um…” He tugs a little at her clothes.

She nods, then moves to take his hands to show him how to remove her skintight armor, but he shakes his head and says, “I’ll go first.”

He unties the sash around his waist, letting his thick robe fall aside. Then he removes his wrist guards and puts them on the floor. Finally, his face disappears for a moment as he takes off his shirt, and then his torso is bare.

His arms are more muscled and defined than she imagined, and Acacia finds herself staring—she looks away only to gaze at his chest instead.

Takumi rubs at his neck. “Why are you staring?” he mumbles.

She puts her hands on his stomach, feeling how warm he is despite the goosebumps forming on his skin. “You’re handsome,” she says, causing him to look away.

She would roll her eyes if she weren’t so nervous herself. She takes off her headband and puts it aside, then grabs his hand. “Help me take this off, okay?”

He nods, then follows her lead with shy fingers. She shows him how to unlatch the cape, then the armor itself. After prompting him, she lets him take the top part off her outfit, leaving her top bare aside from her chest wrappings.

He can’t look away, and she echoes, “Why are _you_ staring?”

A chuckle escapes him, diffusing the tension. “You’re beautiful,” he says, his words coming out a lot easier now. He leans forward and kisses her, sliding his hands up and down against her sides. She moans into his mouth, startling the both of them.

Acacia can’t help but laugh. “Are we going to keep doing this?”

“I think so,” Takumi admits. “But that doesn’t make this bad.”

“It doesn’t,” she agrees, wrapping her arms around his neck and tangling her fingers in his hair. They kiss again and lean back down onto the bed, this time deliberately and slowly.

Takumi presses a kiss to her forehead, then moves his mouth to her neck. Acacia moans again, rubbing Takumi’s back. He trails his kisses down her collarbone to her chest and pauses to touch the edge of her breast, looking up at her for permission.

“You can take off the wrappings, Takumi.” She leans forward to kiss his forehead, then angles her arms so she rests on her elbows, elevating herself a little to give him more leeway with the bindings. He slowly peels them off, revealing her breasts.

He marvels at her for a moment, if a bit in embarrassment, and then he brushes his hand over her nipple. She gasps, then immediately follows with “I’m not hurt—it feels good” to keep him from stopping. He keeps touching her, gauging her squirms and moans of pleasure, and then he kisses her breast.

“A-ah, _Takumi_ ,” she gasps, her fingers knotting into his hair. He moves to her other breast, kissing and nuzzling it. Finally, she tugs at him a little. “Takumi—Takumi, stop.”

He does so at once. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, not at all.” She moves her hands to his chest and rubs at his skin. “I just want to do something for you, too.”

Takumi averts his gaze. “You already have,” he mumbles. When she frowns in confusion, he hunches his shoulders. “…I’m hard.”

“Oh.” She moves her hand to cup his jaw. “We can have sex, if you want.”

His head reels back. “A-are you sure? I mean—do you want to?”

Acacia nods. “I really want to.” She shifts her legs. “I’m, uh—I just would really like to.”

“…All right,” Takumi says. He lets out a breath in an attempt to relax. “I’ve never done this before.”

“Me neither.” She slides her fingers under the waistband of Takumi’s pants, gently tugging them down. “I’m nervous…but I’m with you, so I’m not scared.”

Takumi blinks, his eyes wet. He gives her a quick kiss. “I love you. I’ll be careful.”

She laughs a little. “You’ve been careful this whole time…. And I appreciate it.”

She pulls down his pants more, and he takes them off completely, leaving himself fully nude. She can’t help but stare at his erection; it’s thin and long, and since she’s never actually seen one before, she can’t help but think how strange and different it is compared to her own sex.

He catches sight of her stare. “I-is it okay?”

“Y-yes, of course, it’s just…” She searches for the words.

Takumi starts to laugh and tries to cover it up. “I think I understand. This is really…different, for both of us.”

He grabs the waistband of her tights, and at her nod, he pulls them off completely. She blushes and spreads her legs apart, and once again it’s Takumi’s turn to stare. He shakes his head a little to dispel the awkwardness, and then he angles his hips down to press his erection against her slick mound.

“…It goes inside, you know.”

“I know that!” he barks in defense, and a moment later, they’re both laughing.

She kisses him with a whispered word of love, and Takumi looks at her with his soft eyes before he lines up with her and slowly enters her.

“Ah… Acacia,” Takumi groans, pressing inside her further.

“T-Takumi,” she gasps, and he stops, watching her expression. She grabs his shoulders, her fingernails digging into his skin. “G-go all the way, then stop.”

He hesitates, but does as she says. Acacia closes her eyes, a slight grimace on her face as she breathes deeply. Takumi kisses her forehead, and she smiles at him. “Go slow, please.”

“All right,” he murmurs, and then he carefully pulls almost all the way out before pushing back in again. He moans at the sensation, resisting the urge to pound into her. He reaches out to find her hand, then twines their fingers together.

She smiles, seeming to relax more. She wraps her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper. “A-ah, Takumi… gods, _Takumi_ …”

He almost laughs with relief and thrusts just a little faster. “You feel so good, Acacia,” he murmurs, his mouth falling open as he starts to pant. She pulls him down to kiss him, each thrust causing her to groan and gasp into him.

“I-I…” She bucks her hips against his. “G-gods, _Takumi_!”

Her walls clamp down around him, triggering her orgasm, and she shudders to a stop. Takumi thrusts once, twice more into her, and he groans as he releases.

He collapses just beside her, almost half on top of her, utterly spent. Acacia leans to the side to hold him close, tangling her legs with his. Takumi hasn’t even caught all of his breath before he’s kissing her lips again, knotting his fingers through her hair.

“Gods, this is real,” he murmurs when he pulls away, his hazel gaze trained on her like she’s the only other person in the world. “You love me.”

Acacia takes his hand. “Of course I do, Taku—”

“Marry me.”

Takumi leans in again, but this time, she puts a hand against his chest. “Just a second.”

“What?” His brows furrow, like he’s angry with himself. “Was...was that too soon?”

She grins. “I don’t think so, but I’ll only marry you when I give you back your other glove.”

He relaxes, his eyes softening. “All right, then. How can I get it back?”

“Simple. Finish teaching me about the bow—until I can hit the center target _by myself_.”

A snort escapes him. “So—so then, you don’t want to get married at all?”

“Hey!” She slaps his arm, but it only makes him laugh harder. “I’ll get it eventually! _Takumi_!”

He holds onto his sides, struggling to contain his laughter. “W-what a lofty goal,” he chuckles. “You think you can do it?”

She averts her eyes. “I think _we_ can do anything together; that’s why I said that,” she half-mumbles.

After Takumi takes that in, he laughs again, wrapping an arm around her waist. “That is so cheesy,” he teases.

“Well, what about you?” she asks, poking his chest. “Don’t you agree?”

He grows a bit flustered. “I guess I do,” he admits. “As gushy as you make it sound.”

She huffs. “You’re gushy too. You just try not to show it.”

“I-I am not!”


End file.
